Railway car truck



March 2, 1943.

J. G. BOWER RAILWAY CAR TRUCK Original Filed Fe b. 1a, 1958 3Sheets-Sheet l Q March 2, 1943.

J. G. BOWE R RAILWAY GAR TRUCK Original Filed Feb. 18, 1958 3Sheets-Sheet 2 March 2, 1943. I J. cs. BOWER 2,312,383

RAILWAY CAR TRUCK Original Filed Feb. 18, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 e7.6,.30 we),

iln'ucnfob Ulla: "ca 4 Patented Mar. 2, 1943 UNITED snares .er 'r FFICERAILWAY CAR TRUCK Jerome G. Bower, New York, N- Y., assignor to TheBuckeye Steel Columbus, Ohio Castings Company,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in railway car truck and while itis applicable to trucks having four or more wheels, it is particularlyuseful in connection with eight-wheel trucks.

The present application is a division of my application, Serial No.191,308, filed February 18, 1938, which has since matured into Patent2,224,- 136, granted December 10, 1940.

At the present time, heavy equipment and high train speeds make itdesirable to decrease the load concentrations at the wheels, and thissituation has led to the development of trucks using more wheels andaxles per truck. Lighter wheel loads result in greater economy andefficiency due to the reduced maintenance cost, especially in high speedservice.

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide novel meansfor mounting the side frames on the journal boxes of the truck.

The invention aims to devise a structure of this character in whichformer objections are overcome, and is particularly directed tosimplifying constructions of thi kind and to produce a compact,efficient and thoroughly practical truck.

A further object is to supply a truck which is relatively short inheight.

Other objects and advantages which are inherent in the invention willbecomeapparent from a detailed description of the invention inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a Side elevation of one half of a truck of the type disclosedin my above-mentioned parent application, Serial No. 191,308.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View of a detail taken on the line 2-2of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a portion of a modification in which a sideframe is resiliently supported by a journal box in a different mannerthan shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. i.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a further modification in which each sideframe member is resiliently supported by journal boxes in a novel way.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, designates a four-wheel truck unitforming part of an eight- Wheel truck. In accordance with the invention,each of such units may consist of four wheels 8, supporting axles (notshown) which carry journal boxes 9. The journal boxes, in turn supportside frames H) at each side of the truck, only one of which is shown.

Each side frame is resiliently mounted on a pair of journal boxes, andin the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, semi-elliptic springs I Iare supported upon seats I2 upon the tops of the journal boxes, and eachseat may consist of a rectangular, tubular casting 13 through which thespring extends. The ends of the springs underlie supports M, which maybe integral with or secured to the side frame, and each supportpreferably has an arc-shaped bottom surface I5 for transferring aportion of the load from the vehicle through the spring to the journalbox. Helical springs it of any suitable numberrest on the tubularbearing castings l3, and extend vertically into the side frame memberabove the pedestal openings I! to also aid in supporting the side frame.Obviously the side frames should preferably be hollow castings in orderto take care of such constructions. Each journal box is slidably mountedfor vertical movement within a pedestal opening and is provided withflanges 18 which embrac the vertical portions at the sides of thepedestal opening, thereby guiding the journal box within the opening.Although Fig. 1 shows two helical springs over each journal box, it ismanifest that the design is readily applicable for the use of one ormore helical springs.

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 to 5 inclusive, each semi-ellipticspring i9 instead of being arranged at the top of a journal box ispositioned below the same, and accordingly the bottom of each journalbox is provided with a cradle 20 preferably cast integral with the box.The side frame member 2! in this assembly, is also provided withsupports 22 with arc-shaped bottom portions 23 which bear upon oppositeends of the semi-elliptic spring thereby transferring a portion of theload from the vehicle through this spring to the axle journal. Thehelical springs 24 in this modification are seated directly on top ofthe journal boxes.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6, another typeof spring suspension is used. In this construction, each side framemember 25 is provided with hearing portions or shelves 26, which arearranged at opposite sides of the pedestal opening and rest upon asuitable number of coil springs 28 supported on oppositely extendingseats 29 cast integral with the journal boxes 35). The side frame member25 is also provided with fixed supports 3! having areshaped bottomportions resting upon the oppothey were supported directly by springst'iAs in my parent application; the transverse bolsters of a plurality offour-wheel units may support a span bolster (34 in Fig. and 3 4a in Fig.6). d h

From the foregoing it is believed the details of the improved truck aswell as the advantages of the present invention may be readilyunderstood, and it will be obvious that the invention is not limited tothe details of the illustrative constructions since these maybe'varicusly modified. Moreover, it is not indispensable that allfeatures of the inventionbe used conjointly, since various features maybeemployed to advantage-in different combinations and sub-combinationswithout departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in theclaims. i

What-I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: A r I 1. In arailway car truck, wheel supported axles, boxes in which the axles arejournaled, a rigid side frame member having its end portions verticallyslidable on the journal boxes, spring means supporting the side framemember on the journal boxes, said side frame member'having a windowarranged midway between the journal boxes, and bolster means having anend-portion extending into said window, resting on the side framemember, and vertically movable in unison with the side frame member,said spring means including tubular members arranged at the tops of thejournal boxes and each being immovable transversely and longitudinallyrelatively to the journal box with which it is associated, semiellipticsprings extending through the tubular members, supports fixedly arrangedwithin the side frame member and resting on the ends of thesemi-elliptic springs, and coil springs resting on topxof: the tubularmembers and supporting the side frame member;

2. In arailway car truck of the type having wheel supported, axle,journal boxes, a rigid side frame member having a window about midwaybetweenits ends and having its end portions verticallyj slidable on thejournal boxes, bolster means having an end portion extending into saidwindow, resting on the side frame member and vertically movable inunison with said side frame member, and spring means supporting the sideframe member on the journal boxes, the improvement in which the springmeans comprises tubular members connected to the journal boxesiand eacharranged immovably transversely and longitudinally relatively to thejournal box with which it is associated, semi-elliptic springs extendingthrough the tubular members, supportsfixedly arranged within the sideframe member and resting on the ends of the semi-elliptic springs, andcoil springs supportedat the top of the journal boxes and supporting theside frame member, the side frame member immediately above the journalboxes being of inverted U-shaped cross section and housing said coilsprings.

JEROME G. BOWER.

